A Weekend in August: Scale Modeling in Liberty and Festival of Nations in St. Louis

Early Saturday morning (24 August), I left home to drive to Liberty, Missouri, northeast of Kansas City. After over four hours of driving (including stops along the way), I arrived at Liberty Christian Fellowship Church, site of the 2024 Modelfest presented by IPMS West Central Missouri. 

I paid for myself and my three model entries at the registration desk, then placed my three models in their contest area categories. I also brought in some flyers for IPMS Gateway's Invitational next month, which went on the contest registration tables. Additionally, I bought some raffle tickets and milled around the show area.

It was very nice seeing my friends and acquaintances at the show and admiring the contest entries. I did win one military vehicle kit in the raffle and bought an aircraft kit and three aircraft books from vendors. At midday, I joined with other contest judges for lunch and a briefing before we began judging contest entries. My team judged automotive entries, then I joined a team to judge ships and figures. The judging went very efficiently.

At the end of the show, I plugged Gateway's show and several other upcoming model contests were promoted before the contest results were announced. I didn't win anything with my entries, but that didn't bother me. I am happy if I win, but that isn't why I am at these shows. Being there is the important part to me. I packed up my models and drove home, arriving home Saturday night.

The next afternoon (25 August), I went to Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis for the final day of the Festival of Nations, a multiethnic fair run by the International Institute of St. Louis. I walked about the many booths offering various food, crafts, and information. I enjoyed a cup of boba tea from Honey Bee Tea, and two empanadas from the Tango Argentina booth.

Late that afternoon, I reported to the volunteer desk for my assignment. I joined with two others to help with traffic control as the artists were leaving the park. I stood my watch for a little over one hour and things went smoothly. It was great to have done my part in making the Festival of Nations such a success.

 Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Liberty Christian Fellowship Church: Liberty Christian Fellowship (lcfliberty.org)

IPMS West Central Missouri: Home (ipmswcmo.com)

IPMS Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

Tower Grove Park: Tower Grove Park

Festival of Nations: 2024 Festival of Nations Home (festofnations.com)

International Institute of St. Louis: International Institute of St. Louis – Immigrant Services & Community Engagement Hub since 1919 (iistl.org)

Honey Bee Tea: Boba Tea Coffee Smoothies - Honey Bee Tea (honeybt.com)

Tango Argentina: TANGO Argentina Food - Saint Charles, MO

 

Grand Day in South St. Louis

This morning, I drove to Rooster, a breakfast restaurant on South Grand in South St. Louis. I had breakfast there with Julie Rodriguez, who I first met a month ago. Yes, she and I are in a relationship now. Anyway, we had a nice breakfast--Julie had crepes, I had a pork sausage slinger. Most satisfying.

After breakfast, Julie and I walked up and down South Grand before walking to nearby Tower Grove Park. We went to the site of the Festival of Nations, the annual multicultural festival presented by the International Institute of St. Louis. Today was the second and last day of the Festival's 2022 run.

Julie and I walked among the attractions, including stopping by the Viva Brasil STL booth to talk with the organization's Carolina Holtmeyer. The two of us then walked back to Julie's car, where we said our goodbyes. I then drove to a side street south of Tower Grove Park to park my car before walking to Amsterdam Tavern. I had a draft beer--Civil Life's Vienna Lager--and watched some soccer on TV before walking back to Tower Grove Park to check in on my volunteer shift.

After checking in at the Volunteer Pavilion, I walked to a Drink Booth on the northwest area of the festival grounds. My shift ran from 12:15 pm to 3:45 pm, and it was a busy one for my boothmates and myself. I helped get drinks--water, soda, beer, seltzers, and wine--from icewater-filled tubs to the customers waiting before the cash wrap people. It got hectic at times, trying to find certain items in the tubs to fulfil customer requests. Thanks to the sunny and hot day today--the high just topped 90 degrees F (32 degrees C)--we had many customers at our booth. I'm sure the other drink booths on the grounds had a great deal of business today.

I was one tired volunteer when my shift ended, but it was satisfying to do my part to help the International Institute's mission of assisting immigrants to St. Louis. After checking out at the Volunteer Pavilion, I ordered a bit of Brazilian food from a booth run by Brasilia Restaurant. I got an order of coxinha, fried chicken dough stuffed with chicken filling. It was delicious and really hit the spot for me.

After briefly walking the festival grounds, I began to walk to my car. I then pulled out and drove home. The sky was cloudy when I left Tower Grove Park, but got stormy when I was on I-55 about to get onto eastbound I-255 on the way home. Glad I left the park when I did.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Rooster: Rooster (roosterstl.com)

Tower Grove Park: Tower Grove Park

International Institute of St. Louis:  International Institute of St. Louis – Immigrant Services & Community Engagement Hub since 1919 (iistl.org)

Festival of Nations: Festival of Nations (festivalofnationsstl.org)

Amsterdam Tavern: Home of Amsterdam Tavern St. Louis Best Soccer Sports Bar - Amsterdam Tavern

Civil Life Brewing Co.:Home | Civil Life Brewing Company Online Store (square. Site)

Viva Brasil STL:  Viva Brasil STL

Brasilia Restaurant: Brasilia Bar & Restaurant (brasiliastl.com)

  

At the 2019 Festival of Nations

Last Sunday morning (25 August), I braved the rain to drive to Tower Grove Park (https://www.towergrovepark.org/) in south St. Louis. I attended the Festival of Nations (http://festivalofnationsstl.org/), an annual multicultural festival presented by the International Institute of St. Louis (https://www.iistl.org/).

After parking I walked to the festival site. Despite the rain, there was a good crowd there. After browsing among the food booths, I ordered lunch from a Brazilian booth operated by Brasilia Bar & Restaurant (https://www.brasiliastl.com/). I had vatapa, a chicken dish, and drank Guarana Antarctica soda (https://www.guaranaantarctica.com/en). I browsed among the food and gift booths, representing various cultures of the world. There were also information booths from various organizations that catered to immigrants new to the St. Louis area and internationally-minded citizens. Musicians and dancers also performed.

While walking among the vendors, I bought a strawberry drink from a Filipino food booth, and sesame sweet balls from a Vietnamese food booth.

Late that afternoon, I reported to the volunteer booth and worked a shift as a Festival Ambassador. I helped staff an information booth, answering questions from visitors wondering where the various food and gift booths were located and how long this event was happening. We had a few visitors in that last shift of the festival, and it was a good thing to help the festival and its cause of welcoming immigrants to this area.

Later.

Hot Times with Saint Louis FC and the Festival of Nations

It was quite busy the latter part of this past week at the rental branch, including on Saturday morning (25 August). After work and grabbing a bit of lunch at Quik Trip (https://www.quiktrip.com/), I shopped for work shoes at Walmart (https://www.walmart.com/).

I came home to rest a bit, then headed to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for that night's Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match against Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate that night featured a barbecue dinner from Sugarfire Smoke House (https://sugarfiresmokehouse.com/) and beer from Kirkwood Station Brewing Co. (http://www.kirkwoodstationbrewing.com/). Funds raised by donations went to the St. Louis Area Foodbank (http://stlfoodbank.org/).

About 30 minutes from kickoff, the St. Louligans marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. A 1-0 loss away to Fresno FC a week before had snapped Saint Louis FC's four-match win streak. This night, the home side started a new streak as Saint Louis FC ran out 3-2 winners. The hosts scored twice early in the first half before Tulsa pulled one back. Saint Louis put the game out of reach in the second half before Tulsa got one in the waning seconds. This win was Saint Louis FC's 10th of the season--a new club record. They currently stand in 7th place in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League (https://www.uslsoccer.com/)--one place about the last playoff spot--with nine matches to go.

This morning, I went to Tower Grove Park (https://www.towergrovepark.org/) in south St. Louis for the Festival of Nations (http://festivalofnationsstl.org/), an annual multicultural fair. This is presented by the International Institute of St. Louis (https://www.iistl.org/), an organization that welcomes immigrants to St. Louis. I stopped by the Viva Brasil STL (https://www.vivabrasilstl.org/) booth and stayed there for about an hour, chatting with volunteers and guests. Then, I got some lunch from a Filipino food booth.

I then checked in at the volunteer booth and--after receiving my volunteer t-shirt--went to the festival merchandise booth. I worked there for about 2 1/4 hours, helping sell festival t-shirts, mugs, water cups, and cookbooks. It was very hot today, with heat indices topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Things went well and I got a bottle of water after my shift. I walked the grounds a bit--including a return to the Viva Brasil STL booth--before walking back to my car and going home.

Later.

Helping Bring Brazil to St. Louis

Last Friday morning (26 August)--as usual on payday Fridays--I bought some doughnuts for my colleagues at the car rental branch. They appreciate my gesture, helping brighten their mornings. Work went well and we were kept busy late in the day.

Late Saturday morning, I headed to Tower Grove Park (http://www.towergrovepark.org/) for the International Institute's Festival of Nations (http://www.festivalofnationsstl.org/), an annual multicultural festival. I browsed among the various craft, information, and food booths, before getting lunch from the Brazilian food booth from Brasilia Restaurant. I chose Vatapa de Frango, a grilled chicken breast in a cashew nut gravy, served with rice and collard greens. Additionally, I had a vanilla flan desert and drank mango juice. Very tasty. I also chatted with my friend Dayna O'Brien, who was volunteering at the St. Louis Sister Cities booth.

After lunch, I made my way to the Viva Brasil Association in St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home) information booth at the Festival. I spent about two hours in the booth, talking with visitors about our group and Brazil in general. It was great helping out the group, and others in the group--including Mauricio Gobbo, his wife Susan, and Sandra Schulte--were very happy that I helped them out. Priscila Borba, my instructor in the Portuguese course I'm taking, also stopped by the booth.

After my volunteer shift, I headed back home to get ready for Saint Louis FC's (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against San Antonio FC. After taking the Pub2Park shuttle bus from Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills), I walked over to the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate for a while before walking into Marshall Wireless Stadium. Unfortunately, two first-half goals for the visitors were the difference as San Antonio FC won 2-nil, dimming Saint Louis FC's post-season hopes.

I spent Sunday morning (28 August) editing some articles for the Fall 2016 issue of Naturally Autistic magazine (http://www.naturallyautistic.com/). I also edited a few items late last week. Then, I headed back to the Festival of Nations, where I hung out with the Viva Brasil booth and chatted with others from the group who were staffing the booth, and with visitors. We had many visitors at the booth that weekend, which was great. I then reported for a volunteer shift helping staff one of the Festival's drinks booths. I was originally to help out at the beer tasting booth on the west end of the Festival grounds, but it had just ran out of beer and was closing up early. I was then reassigned to a drinks booth in the eastern end of the grounds. I helped with beverage sales for the last hour before the festival closed, then helped to tear down the booth. It was great to help out this Festival for the third year.

Back to work Monday, it was a rather busy first part of the week at the branch. I edited a couple more pieces for Naturally Autistic magazine after work on Monday. I flexed out Tuesday afternoon (30 August), as I am working this Saturday morning. Early Tuesday night, I drove to Three Kings Public House in Des Peres (http://threekingspub.com/) for a Happy Hour with my branch colleagues. Hannah, our former branch colleague now at the Brentwood branch, also came and we enjoyed appetizers and beers while talking about this and that. I was able to take some leftover appetizers home with me.

After work Wednesday, I was off to St. Louis Community College at Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/) for the second night of Portuguese Language: Beginning I. Instructor Priscila Borba led us in more instruction on the language, including how to use the proper prepositions and correct pronunciations. The class is coming along very nicely.

My off day today started with getting blood withdrawn at a lab for routine tests my doctor ordered for me, followed by breakfast at St. Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html). Late today, I got a call from Weiss Toyota telling me they had the replacement part for the recalled airbag on my Corolla, and we scheduled a service appointment on Thursday of next week. It will be free of charge, due to this being a recall.

Back to work tomorrow and Saturday morning, then I can enjoy the Labor Day Weekend.

Later.